Gear shifter



March l, 1938- H. N. DURHAM 2,109,615

GEAR SHIFTER Y Filed Aug. 14, 1935 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 "lll INVENTOR.

wm-MTM "www1-TMW ATTORNEYS WMIHIIIH l H. N. DURHAM March 1,1938.

GEAR SHIFTER Filed Aug. 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIII/A IVI I INVENTOR. www...

ATTORNEYS A'Patented Mer. 1, 193s PATENT OFFICE GEAR SHIFTER Hobart N. Durham, Munsey Park, N. Y., assigner to Vaco Products, Inc., a corporation of Dela- Ware Application August 14, 1935, -Serial No. 36,093

5 Claims.

'Ihe present invention relates to automotive vehicles and more particularly to novel and improved uid-pressure operated gear shifting device for the transmission gearing of such a vehicle.

Objects and advantages of the inventionk will be set forth in. part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed outin the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein.

and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings: v

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view lof an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, with certain parts shown in section for clarity: Figures 2 and 3 are detailed side elevationsy of a part used in the embodiment of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary -detailed sectional view of a cylinder valve as utilized in the embodiment of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of a modified embodiment of the invention.

The present invention has for its object the provision of an exceedingly simple gear-shifting device for automotive transmissions, and which is particularly adapted for operation by fluid pressure and preferably vacuum. Another object of the invention is the provision of an automatic gear-shifting device for shifting the transmission gears in accordance with vehicle speed which requires only a single vacuum cylinder for its operation. A further object of the invention is the provision of a vacuum operated gear-shifting device in which a single cylinder does all the actual work of shifting the gears from one speed to another while separate means are provided for determining which gears are to be shifted. Another object of the invention is to provide a-n actuating device for selectively engaging any one of several gear-shifting elements, the engagement thereof with the shifting elements being controlled in accordance with vehicle speed or move. ment and the shifting movement of the actuating device when engaged with any of said shifting elements also being subject to vehicle speed or' movement. Still another object of the invention (cl. 'zt-e365) `Referring now in detail to the illustrative emy bodiment of the invention as shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, the invention is illustrated as applied to an automobile having three forward and one reverse speeds and power means for the automatic operation of the conventional clutch, and is shown as adapted to shift these gears automatically into the proper speeds as determinedby the vehicle speed.

There is provided the conventional internal combustion motor I0 serving to drive a propeller shaft II through va clutch I2 and selective transmission gearing I3. A spring I4 serves to maintain the clutch normally engaged, and it may be moved to disengaged ppsition by means of the clutch pedal I5, or the clutch is automatically disengaged by means of a vacuum-operated piston I6 connected to the clutch by means of a link I1. 'Ihe application of vacuum to the piston I6 is controlled in accordance with the position of the accelerator pedal I8 by means of a valve I8 con. nected thereto, and vacuum Iis applied tothe cylinder of piston I6 `from the intake manifold 2| through line 22. Accelerator I8 is plv-oted on pivot II9 and is returned to idling position by spring I I8.

As the accelerator pedal I8 is depressed, the clutch operating cylinder 20 is disconnected from the intake manifold 2|, thereby permitting entending parallel thereto and above said rods. As/

shown in Figure l, the mechanism is in rst speed position and is ready to be shifted to second speed position.

For` moving the shifting rods and 28 alter-4 natively from one speed position to another, there is provided a double pinion 29, shown in detail in Figures 2 and 3, adapted to mesh with one or the other of the racks 21 and 28, and having its two gear faces spaced so as to fit between the racks Without engaging either rack, or so as to engage either one or the other of the racks. Pinion 29 is provided with a cylindrical portion connecting its two gear portions, and the cylindrical portion is formed with two cylindrical grooves 30 connected together by an axial groove 3|,`and is fixed to a shaft 32 mounted .in suitable bearings for rotary and axial sliding movement above the transmission casing and at right angles to the shifting rods 25 and 26. A nger 33, mounted rigidly on the transmission casing, extends into the gooves 30 and 3|, and is so positioned that the pinion 29 can be moved axially with its shaft only when the gear-shifting rods 25 and 26 are both in neutral position, in which case the pinion is moved axially with the finger: 33 in groove 3|.

For sliding the gear-shifting rods 25 and 26 by oscillation of the pinion 29, a pinion 35 is also mounted on shaft 32 and meshes with a rack 36 forming an extension of piston rod 31 which is rigidly connected to piston 38 moving within the vacuum cylinder 39.

Means arel also provided for shifting the pinion 29 axially and for this purpose a collar 40 is mounted at one end of shaft 32 and cooperates with a forked end 4| of a lever 42, pivoted at |42, which is moved by one or the other of springs 43 on rod 44 connected to one end of lever 45, pivoted at |45 and movable between stop pins |46 and |41 as will be more fully described below.

IMeans are provided for controlling the application of vacuum to the cylinder 39 in accordance with the speed ofmovement of the vehicle, and for this purpose a governor 50 is driven from the propeller shaft I I. The application of vacuum is, however, always subject to the control of the clutch pedal I5, and valve ||5 is opened only when the clutch is disengaged. At its axially movable end, the governor is connected to a slide valve 5| which controls the application of vacuum to the cylinder 39. Valve 5| comprises a slide 52 slidable within a valve body 53 and formed with a plurality of valve passageways 54 and 55 adapted to selectively connect one or the other of valve ports 56, 51 or 58 with the valve port 59. With the governor in its stationary position, passageway 55 connects valve ports 51 and 59, While at a vehicle speed of from eight to fifteen miles per hour, the slide connects valve port 56 with port 59, and at higher speeds the port 58 is connected`with port 59. Ports 51 and, 58 are both connected with line 60 connected to one end ofy cylinder 39, while port 56 is connected to the other end of cylinder 39 through a line 6|.

Means are also provided for positioning the pinion 29 axially in accordance with vehicle speed, so that at speeds above eight miles an hour, for instance, the pinion is in engagement with rack 28, while at lower speeds the pinion is in engagement with rack 21. As shown in Figure 1, the collar 49 of governor 50 is slidable on shaft |5| and is held in low speed position by springs |50 is also adapted to cooperate with a lever 65 pivoted on pin |65, connected to lever 45 by link 66. Lever 45 is provided with a projection 61 to cooperate with a detent 68 so as to move the lever suddenly from one position to the other under the influence of the governor 50. In the position shown, one of the springs 43 has been compressed and is ready to slide the pinion 29 axially toits other position when the rod 25 has been returned to neutral position by cylinder 39.

For automaticallyventing the cylinder 38 at one end as the piston moves towards the other end, automatic atmospheric relief ports are provided. As embodied, there is provided a relief port 10 at each end of `the cylinder, and each port is connected to vent its own end of the cylinder and to be operated by the reduced pressure at the other end of the cylinder. For this purpose (Fig. 4) the relief port comprises a valve body 1| having an atmospheric port 12 and a port 13 opening into the cylinder 38, and a valve slide 16 normally closing the communication between ports 12 and 13. Ihe valve slide is recessed and is moved against the compression of spring 14 by vacuum applied through line 15 connected to the other end of cylinder 38.

Manually controlled means are provided for selectively moving the gears to reverse, second speed, and neutral positions and a valve manually operable by handle |80 is provided between the intake 2 and the selector valve 5|, this valve 80 having an opening which may be connected with any one of the valve ports 8|, 82 or 83. Pbrt 82 corresponds to the normal position for automatic operation, and is connected by line 85 to selector valve 5|, while valve port 83 is the neutral port and is connected by line 86 to the central portion of cylinder 38. Valve port 8| is for reverse or second speed, depending upon whether the vehicle is at rest or moving and is connected by line 88 to line 6|.`

In accordance with a modified form of the invention, means are provided for amplifyingthe power of the governor-controlled mechanism for axially moving the pinions 29. A n illustrative form of this modification is shown in Fig. 5, in which the parts identical with those in Fig. 1 are similarly numbered, it being apparent that the only structural diiference in the two forms of the -invention lies in the connections between governor-actuated lever 45 and the pinion shaft 32. In this modified form of the invention, the governor-controlled lever 45 operates a relay valve to control a vacuum-operated actuating motor comprising the vacuum cylinder |00 having slidable therein a piston |0|, the rod of which is pivotally connected with the end of lever |02. The other end of said lever is connected by a fork |03 to the grooved collar 40 on the end of pinion shaft 32.

Connection is made to the cylinder |00 from the main vacuum line 85 through a conduit |05 which communicates With the interior of a cylindrical valve chamber |06. A conduit |01 communicates with the opposite side of the valve chamber near the upper end thereof, the lower end of said conduit entering the upper end of the cylinder |00. The opposite end of the cylinder |00 communicates with the lower portion of valve chamber |06 through conduit |08.

A valve slide I I0 is mounted to oscillate within the chamber |06, the lower end of said slide being pivotally connected to the end of governor lever 45. The valve slid' is provided with an upper port and a lower port ||2 separated by a central solid portion ||3. The valve cham? ber or cylinder |06 is ported to the atmosphere at ||5 opposite the conduit |01 and at ||6 opposite'the conduit |08.

The mechanism shown in Fig. 5 is in the same F position as that in Fig. 1, that is, the gears are in first speed position and about to be shifted to second speed position. In this operation, the governor mechanism is tending to raise the left hand end of lever 45 and has moved valve slide CII ` through port and conduit |01. a Sametime atmosphere port remains blocked,

nn so that communication is established between conduit |05 and the upper end of cylinder At the while port ||2'establishes communication between the lower end of the cylinder and atmosphere through conduit |08 and port I l6. Thus piston |0| is about to be raised, tending to-shift pinion 29 across finger 33 as soon as it has been oscillated into position.

It will be clear that a further increase in speed of the vehicle will tend to maintain the piston |0| in the position described, while a slowing down of the vehicle will restore theparts to the position shown in the drawings. With this construction the governor is not called upon to,

exercise any appreciable force, but merely serves as a control for the valve mechanism.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom lwithin the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. i

What I claim is:

1. Ina fluid pressure operated gear shifter for the selective operation of a plurality of shift rodsfthe combination of a reversible uid pressure motor, racks connected to each shift rod, a pinion moved by the motor and a governor for shifting the pinion into engagement with one or the other rack.

2. In a fluid pressure operated gear shifter for the selective operation of a plurality of shift rods, the combination of a reversible fluid pressure motor, 'racks connected to each shift rod, a pinion moved by the motor and means for shifting the pinion into engagement with one or the other rack, a selector valve and a governor selectively controlling the valve for controlling the application of fluid pressure to the ends of the cylinder.

3. in a uid pressure operated gear shifter for 'the power shifting of an automobile changegear transmission, the combination of a reversible uid pressure motor, a plurality of shift rods, a

governor, a selector valve controlling the application of fluid pressure alternatively to one end or the other of the motor and moved directly by the governor, meansl for connecting the motor with either shift rod by the governor and manually operable means for applying fluid pressure directly .to the motor independently of the se- 1 lector valve.

into a higher forward speed, the combination of a reversible fluid pressure operated motor, means for operatively connecting the motor with one or the other of the shift rods, fluid pressure means for shifting the connecting means, a vehicle driven governor, and means for controlling the application of uid pressure to said motor and iiuid pressure means, said fluid pressure means being under control of the governor, and manual control means controlling the application of fluid pressure to the Vmotor independently of the governor, said manual and governor control means coacting to prevent shifting into reverse while the vehicle is above a certain forward speed.

5. In a uid pressure operated gear shifter for the operation of a pair of shift rods, one of said rods serving to shift the gears into reverse andfirst speeds while another serves to shift the gears into higher forward speeds, the combination of a reversible fluid pressure operated motor, means for operatively connecting the motor with one or the other of the shift rods, iluidpressure means for shifting the connecting means, a vehicle driven governor, and means for controlling the application of uid pressure to said motor and fluid pressure-means, said fluid pressure means being under control of the governor, and manual control means controlling the application of fluid pressure to the motor independently of the governor, said manual and governor control means coacting to prevent shifting into reverse while the vehicle is abovea certain forward speed.

Y, HOBART N. DURHM. 

